Hi everyone!!
My name is Joanna. I am 30 years old, and live in a very small town in Arkansas. I was born in London, England and moved to the US when I was 12. I am the mother to three amazing children that I refer to as Peanut, Butter, and Jelly here on my blog. Peanut and Jelly are my two daughters, and Butter is my son. Peanut is 11, Butter is 10, and Jelly is 4.
About 7 years ago, I met the man I knew I could spend the rest of my life with. He's a great dad, a great provider, and best of all - he's my best friend. Hubby is different from every other man I've ever been with. He talks to me. He listens to me. He refuses to fight or argue. He believes in talking about our problems - and figuring them out together. It's made for a very calm and loving relationship - that I wouldn't trade in for the world.
In May, 2011 I graduated from the University of Arkansas with my Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. I am now a Title 1 Instructor in an elementary school working with kids in grades 3-5. It is my dream to have my own classroom one day. It's been a dream I've had since I was 5 years old. Even though I don't have my own classroom, yet, my job allows me to do the one thing I've always loved to do: teach children. I truly believe it's the one job I was born to do.
I have always considered myself to be overweight - even though I look back now to the girl I was in high school and wish that I were that "fat" now. I struggled with my weight because when my friends were wearing a size 0 in high school, I was wearing a size 10. When I was 17, I weighed 140lbs and was considered to be extremely overweight by my peers. Again, I'd give anything to be that "overweight" again.
After leaving school, I went though a very tough time in my life. I had two kids by the time I was 19, and a partner that tore down every inch of my self-esteem. I turned to food for comfort, as it was the only thing that seemed to give me a shoulder to cry on. It took a long time to overcome the damage that the relationship did to me. Even though I was able to trust another man, and gain back some of my independence - my relationship with food stayed in tact. Once I got over eating from depression, I moved to eating for happiness and boredom and every other emotion you can think of.
In the summer of 2009, I was happy. I was in a great relationship with a man I loved with all my heart. But I also hated the person I had become. I was officially the heaviest I'd ever been and topped the scales at almost 300lbs!! I decided I had to do something about it, and started the dieting rollercoaster. I was able to lose about 20lbs, then found it too hard, and gave up. After Christmas that year, my weight really started affecting my happiness. I just wasn't happy with what I had become. I had to do something about it.
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| Me at my heaviest - 297lbs |
On January 17th, 2010, I made the commitment to myself and my family that I was done with dieting. I was going to change our lives - yes, the whole family - and that we would start living a healthy lifestyle. Gone were the chips, the sodas, the junk food - it was time for a change. I was barely able to walk, but knew I had to start exercising. I started out walking for 15 minutes three times a week, and in no time - the weight was flying off.
Since then, I have completed a boot camp fitness class, taken up the Couch to 5K running program, and now get most of my exercise from jogging. On May 26th, 2011 I got down to my lowest weight of 209.8lbs. I lost 88lbs from January 2010 to May 2011, and couldn't have been happier. I have a total of four 5Ks under my belt. My first 5K I finished in 50 minutes walking 90% of the time. A year later, I finished that race in 44:57 minutes jogging 90% of the time.
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| The right is RFTC 2010. The left is RFTC 2011 |
Since May 2011, my life has taken off in all different directions. Trying to find a teaching job consumed every waking second...and the constant rejection set me off on a spiral of sadness, and falling back into bad habits of binge eating and gaining weight.
By the end of 2011, I was back up to almost 240lbs. Exercising and healthy eating had taken a back seat - due to the stressful year I'd had. I just realized that I still had inner demons that I had to conquer before getting back on the horse.
My blog has shifted focus many times volleying back and forth between weight loss stuff and every day life. What started out as a Weight Loss Only blog is now just a daily account of my life....I share my life and everything that goes with it.
In 2012, I hope to finally finish what I started back in 2010. I achieved so much back then, and then let it all slip in 2011. I want better things for 2012, and have big plans in mind.
I'm still a mad fat woman on a journey to find myself, achieve my goals, and become a healthier, sane version of myself. There's a long way to go - so enjoy the ride with me.
Thanks for visiting - I hope you come back often!!
Joanna
a/k/a Mad, Fat Woman
My blog has shifted focus many times volleying back and forth between weight loss stuff and every day life. What started out as a Weight Loss Only blog is now just a daily account of my life....I share my life and everything that goes with it.
In 2012, I hope to finally finish what I started back in 2010. I achieved so much back then, and then let it all slip in 2011. I want better things for 2012, and have big plans in mind.
I'm still a mad fat woman on a journey to find myself, achieve my goals, and become a healthier, sane version of myself. There's a long way to go - so enjoy the ride with me.
Thanks for visiting - I hope you come back often!!
Joanna
a/k/a Mad, Fat Woman
